TOKYO | Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Opus – the Japanese film composer’s eponymous posthumous album and documentary – was recorded and filmed as he was dying of cancer and is clearly intended as his final farewell.
It is fitting that the 20-song, hour-and-a-half-long recording, with sparse piano interludes by Sakamoto, serves as a retrospective, taking the listener on a journey through his 50-year career.
Of particular note is the very first recording of the playfully lyrical “Tong Poo” from his early days with techno-pop trio Yellow Magic Orchestra, also known as YMO. They were pioneers of 1970s electronic music and a Japanese band that made it onto the world stage.
Set to be released Friday on Milan Records, the album “Opus” features solo piano versions of the film scores that form the pillars of Sakamoto’s legacy, beginning with the majestic theme for Bernardo Bertolucci’s “The Last Emperor,” a film set in the final days of imperial China before its communist rule.
The film won an Academy Award for Best Original Score, making Sakamoto the first Asian to win the honor. The 1987 film starring John Lone also won Best Picture. The score also won a Grammy.
The track “BB” is Sakamoto’s tribute to Bertolucci, a tender love poem for his brilliant collaborator.
“Opus” also includes the bleak, reflective music that Sakamoto wrote for Bertolucci’s 1990 “Sky Above the Desert,” which contrasts the emotionally lost American travelers with the merciless vastness of North Africa.
It also contains the music for “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence,” a 1983 film about a World War II prisoner of war camp. Directed by Nagisa Oshima, in which Sakamoto also acted, the film has become his trademark.
Sakamoto’s sound has an unmistakable Asian flavor that is difficult to define, but is evident through the use of certain harmonies, pentatonic motifs or scales. His sound is also reminiscent of Debussy, but to be honest, that’s all Sakamoto.
Some have described his ability to speak in the silence between notes as “minimalist.”
All songs on “Opus” were immaculately recorded at the NHK 509 studio in Tokyo and performed without an audience in 2022. The change of the piano pedal and sometimes his breathing are present.
A poignant black-and-white documentary by his son Neo Sora documents the footage, which was spread over several days due to Sakamoto’s deteriorating health.
This testament to Sakamoto’s music underlines the artist’s commitment to his work, which lasted until the end. The album’s slogan is: “Art is long, life is short.”
“Opus” is all about death, and some sections, like the title track at the end of the album, sound like a serious prayer.
Sakamoto wanted to record his performance while he still could. After the recording, he felt so exhausted and his condition worsened. He died on March 28, 2023 in Tokyo. He was 71 years old.
“Although I saw this as my last opportunity to perform, in some ways I also felt like I was breaking new ground,” he said in a statement about the project.
Here we have a man who is not afraid to engage with his catalogue of works and give them his own personal interpretation, even though he knows it will be his last.
In doing so, he reminds us with quiet dignity not to fear death.
Yuri Kageyama is on X: https://twitter.com/yurikageyama
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